Politics
Greens unfit to hold any position of responsibility after electing extremist deputy leader, say critics
Mothin Ali hailed October 7 as the end of ‘white supremacist European settler colonialism’
September 4, 2025 11:00
Mothin Ali hailed October 7 as the end of ‘white supremacist European settler colonialism’
September 4, 2025 11:00Former Labour MP Dame Louise Ellman has attacked the Green Party for electing a deputy leader who hailed the end of "white supremacist European settler colonialism” on October 7.
Jewish Labour grandee Ellman said about Mothin Ali: “It is deeply disturbing that the Green Party should have elected as their deputy leader somebody who, within hours of the atrocities committed by Hamas on October 7, chose to blame the victims not the perpetrators.”
She added: “This decision alone shows how out of touch the Green Party is with the values of the British people and how utterly unfit it is to hold any position of responsibility in our country.”
Her comments were echoed by Conservative Friends of Israel’s Honorary President Lord Polak, who said Ali’s victory should serve as a “wake up call”.
He told the JC: “Extremists have infiltrated our politics and antisemitism continues to be met with indifference. The Green Party must act decisively by removing him from his position and expelling him from the party without further delay.”
Leeds councillor Ali was elected to his role on Tuesday after a ballot of party members.
In videos posted online following the attack by Hamas on southern Israel, the 43-year-old accountant and permaculture teacher said Israel would “use the pretext of the fightback by Hamas fighters or supposedly Hamas fighters this morning” to attack Gaza.
People should “support the right of indigenous people to fight back,” he claimed, before adding: “They are not victims, they are occupiers, they are colonialists, they are European colonialists…
"It’s one of the last European colonies in the world, and that’s why the European people don’t want to let it go. They use the weapon of antisemitism so effectively that anyone who criticises Israel is labelled as antisemitic.”
The Leeds councillor also labelled former Leeds university chaplain Rabbi Zecharia Deutsch a “creep”.
The rabbi was forced into hiding after being accused of “war crimes” for returning to Israel to carry out reserve duties with the IDF and feared for his safety after being targeted by pro-Palestine activists.
Ali subsequently apologised for “any upset my comments caused about the Gaza conflict” shortly after his election in May 2024.
He rose to fame after he defeated Labour in last year’s local election in Gipton and Harehills ward and dedicated his victory to “the people of Gaza”. He was filmed shouting “Allahu Akbar” while standing in front of the Palestinian flag shortly after the result was announced.
Ali was elected as deputy leader alongside Wealden councillor Rachel Millward.
The same day, former deputy leader Zack Polanski won a landslide victory to become Green Party leader with 85 per cent of the vote of party members.
The member of the London Assembly became the first Jewish leader of a political party since Ed Miliband.
Approached for comment, a Green Party spokesperson told the JC: "These are old allegations that were dealt with at the time."
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